SYSTEM AND METHOD SUPPORTING APPLICATION SOLUTION COMPOSITION ON CLOUD

• US 20140052768A1
• Filed: 08/20/2012
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Karve, Alexei, Kochut, Andrzej, Rendahl, Randy Allan, Sailer, Anca, Shaikh, Hidayatullah Habeebullah, DENG, Yu
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,921 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

Disclosed is a method, computer-program product and a system to compose an application solution on a cloud-computing platform for a user. The method includes, in response to input from the user, selecting at least one predetermined template that includes a hardware and software instance of a data processing system that is implementable as an solution on a cloud platform; comparing the at least one selected template against a set of constraints; establishing an instance of a cloud based solution for the user based on the selected template; and validating the established cloud based solution against user-uploaded information such as software and workloads to ensure that the solution satisfies requirements of the user, such as both technical and financial requirements of the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

in response to input from a user, selecting at least one predetermined template comprised of a hardware and software instance of a data processing system that is implementable as an application solution on a cloud platform;

comparing the at least one selected template against a set of constraints;

establishing with at least one data processor an instance of a cloud based solution that is customized for the user based on the at least one selected template; and

prior to presenting to the user the established instance of the customized cloud based solution, validating with the least one data processor the established instance of the cloud based solution by testing the established instance of the cloud based solution against user-uploaded software and workloads to ensure that the established instance of the cloud based solution that is customized for the user satisfies requirements of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, where the input from the user is comprised of a budgetary amount allocated by the user to establish the instance of the cloud based solution, and where the set of constraints comprises the budgetary amount and further comprises technical requirements of the user for the instance of the cloud based solution, where the technical requirements comprise any resiliency requirements of the user.

3. The method of claim 2, where the set of constraints further comprises license-related information associated with the user.

4. The method as in claim 1, where the predetermined template is established by an expert and comprises rules concerning certain topologies, costs related to hardware and software products supported in the certain topologies, and constraints associated with the certain topologies.

5. The method as in claim 4, where establishing comprises:

based on specific requirements of the user selecting at least one of the certain topologies as a working template;

technically validating the working template against the requirements; and

generating the customized cloud-based solution by varying combinations of hardware and software of the working template, were varying takes into consideration any resiliency requirements of the user and any licensing constraints of the user.

6. The method of claim 5, where technically validating the working template comprises:

testing the working template against the user-uploaded software and workloads.

7. The method of claim 1, where validating the established instance of the cloud based solution comprises testing horizontal/vertical scaling capabilities and any resiliency requirements while considering pricing and any license constraints.

8. The method of claim 1, where new constraints are created or requested by the user to identify an instance of a cloud based solution having performance that exceeds performance of other instances of cloud based solutions within the user'"'"'s financial requirements.

9. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, where execution of the computer program product by at least one computer results in operations that comprise:

in response to input from a user, selecting at least one predetermined template comprised of a hardware and software instance of a data processing system that is implementable as an application solution on a cloud platform;

comparing the at least one selected template against a set of constraints;

in response to the set of constraints being compatible with requirements of the selected template, establishing an instance of a cloud based solution that is customized for the user based on the selected template; and

prior to presenting to the user the established instance of the customized cloud based solution, validating using the at least one computer the established instance of the cloud based solution by testing the established instance of the cloud based solution against user-uploaded software and workloads to ensure that the established instance of the cloud based solution that is customized for the user satisfies requirements of the user.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, where the input from the user is comprised of a budgetary amount allocated by the user to establish the instance of the cloud based solution, and where the set of constraints comprises the budgetary amount and further comprises technical requirements of the user for the instance of the cloud based solution, where the technical requirements comprise any resiliency requirements of the user.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, where the set of constraints further comprises license-related information associated with the user.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, where the predetermined template is established by an expert and comprises rules concerning certain topologies, costs related to hardware and software products supported in the certain topologies, and constraints associated with the certain topologies.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, where establishing comprises:

based on specific requirements of the user selecting at least one of the certain topologies as a working template;

technically validating the working template against the requirements; and

generating the customized cloud based solution by varying combinations of hardware and software of the working template, where varying takes into consideration any resiliency requirements of the user and any licensing constraints of the user.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, where the operation of technically validating the working template further comprises:

testing the working template against the user-uploaded software and workloads.

15. The computer program product of claim 9, where the operation of validating the established instance of the cloud based solution comprises testing horizontal/vertical scaling capabilities and any resiliency requirements while considering pricing and any license constraints.

16. The computer program product of claim 9, where new constraints are created or requested by the user to identify an instance of a cloud based solution having performance that exceeds performance of other instances of cloud based solutions within the user'"'"'s financial requirements.

17. A method performed at least in part using a digital data processor that executes computer program instructions, comprising:

inputting requirements from a user for a cloud based computing system, the requirements comprising maximum budgetary limit of the use to implement the cloud based computing system;

based on the requirements input from the user, selecting at least one cloud based computing system working template topology;

technically validating the at least one template topology against the requirements input from the user;

if the at least one template topology is validated, iteratively determining using the at least one validated template topology if the valid template topology can be customized to meet the requirements input from the user, where iteratively determining comprises performing benchmarking of the at least one potential valid cloud based computing system topology using at least one of user provided software and workloads, while considering at least the maximum budgetary limit that was input from the user; and

presenting to the user a selected most cost effective, within the user'"'"'s maximum budgetary limit, cloud based computing system topology that is customized for the user and, if available, at least one further cloud based computing system topology, having a greater capacity than the selected most cost effective cloud based computing system topology, that is also within or near to the user'"'"'s maximum budgetary limit, thereby enabling the user to select a presented cloud based computing system topology.

18. The method as in claim 17, where iteratively determining comprises considering both cost and license constraints, and totaling both computation resource and software costs for a specific instance of a cloud based computing system topology.

19. The method as in claim 17, where iteratively determining comprises testing at least one of horizontal scaling capabilities and vertical sealing capabilities of the at least one potential valid cloud based computing system topology.

20. The method as in claim 17, where the requirements of the user further comprise high availability requirements of the user.